Steuben Hill State Forest
Nature preserve
454 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Herkimer
Herkimer has 784 acres of parks, 82 for every 1,000 residents
88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Herkimer. 4% of Herkimer’s land is conserved, about 775 acres.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #458 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
775 acres · of 31.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
784 ac
82 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,624 ft
Schrader Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Herkimer?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Herkimer have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Herkimer is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #458 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Herkimer’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land82 acres of park per 1,000 residents (784 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 59%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 40%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Myers Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Village of Herkimer Highway Department Garage
Who protects it
775 conserved acres
4% of Herkimer’s land. Who manages Herkimer’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation479 ac
Other state land208 ac
Town or city101 ac
Regional agency5 ac
State Conservation Area · 456 acState Recreation Area · 230 acLocal Park · 88 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 acLocal Other or Unknown · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 12 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steuben Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 456 | Open |
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 195 | Open |
| Village Brookwood Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Unknown |
| West Canada Creek Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 23 | Open |
| Village Herk Reservoir Land Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Unknown |
| Erie Canalway Trail State Recreation Area | Other state land | 13 | Open |
| Town Of Herkimer Land Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Unknown |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Village South Field Land Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Unknown |
| Village Land Land Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Herkimer
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Herkimer
Schrader Hill1,624 ft elevation
DirectionsHasenclever Hill1,417 ft elevation · In Steuben Hill State Forest
DirectionsOsborne Hill1,299 ft elevation
DirectionsSteuben Hill1,138 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill984 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Herkimer
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
12Baseball
4Multi-sport
2Basketball
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Herkimer County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itHerkimer County JailBuilding · listed 1972
About itReformed Church, TheBuilding · listed 1972
About itHerkimer County Historical SocietyBuilding · listed 1972
About itUS Post Office-HerkimerBuilding · listed 1989
About itPalatine German Frame HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itOak Hill CemeteryDistrict · listed 2013
About itHildreth HomesteadBuilding · listed 2020
About itH.M. Quackenbush FactoryBuilding · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Herkimer: May, August and September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Herkimer →
Next door
Herkimer and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
German Flatts6.1 miIlion4.6 miFairfield1.3 miSchuyler1.3 miMohawk0.4 miHerkimer0.3 miFrankfort0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herkimer | 4% | under 0.1 | 82 | 88% | B |
| German Flatts | 6% | 0.2 | 62 | 90% | B+ |
| Fairfield | 8% | under 0.1 | 1,029 | 33% | B |
| Ilion | 18% | 1.8 | 39 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Frankfort | 1% | under 0.1 | 37 | 55% | C |
| Schuyler | 6% | under 0.1 | 440 | 60% | B |
| Mohawk | 10% | 0.5 | 24 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Herkimer
How much of Herkimer is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 5% for a New York town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Herkimer’s trails?
Steuben Hill State Forest and Myers Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Herkimer?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Herkimer?
12,795 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Herkimer or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 784 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Herkimer have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #458 of 758 in New York. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Herkimer neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →